Earthquake Calculator

Find the energy released by an earthquake magnitude.

Energy (J) 63,095,734,448,019.43

TNT equivalent (tons) 15,080.24

Formula: E = 10^(1.5 * M + 4.8) joules

Step-by-step with your numbers:

1. Values used:

2. Magnitude = 6

4. Energy = 63,095,734,448,019.43J

5. TNT equivalent = 15,080.24tons

Did we solve your problem today?

Earthquake energy rises steeply with magnitude on the logarithmic scale.

The math behind it

E = 10^(1.5 x magnitude + 4.8) joules. Each whole magnitude releases about 32 times more energy.

A magnitude 6 quake releases about 6.3 x 10^13 J (about 15,000 tons of TNT).

Why is +1 magnitude so much more?

The 1.5 exponent means one step is roughly 32x the energy.